A Mixture of Mexican Hustle and Charm

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Diners watched as the helado frito was covered in brandy and then lighted on fire. Afterward, a waiter sprinkled cinnamon over the flames, creating a spectacular effect.CreditCreditGregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

By Alice Gabriel

April 5, 2013

On our first visit to Guapo Cocina Mexicana, two of my guests stood outside and peered through the plate-glass window while I fed the parking meter. By the time I joined them, they wore big grins: the manager of the restaurant, sensing an opportunity, had come out into the cold and handed them coupons for free margaritas. It was this mix of hustle and charm offensive — and lively, well-priced, authentic Mexican dishes — that had us developing a little crush on Guapo.

If you have never had a molote — basically a four-star corn dog, fried to a golden brown and stuffed with chorizo and creamy cheese — I suggest you have your first at Guapo, along with a stone-cold Bohemia beer.

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The guacamole served in an avocado shell with radish slices and iceberg lettuce.CreditGregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

Guapo, which opened in January, is owned by Edi Dedi, Ferdinando Paterra, Robert Leggio and Paskual Dedi, the team behind the pioneering Zuppa, just around the corner; Tramonto, in Hawthorne; and Mima Vinoteca, in Irvington. With Guapo, they’re on the far fringe of the gentrified restaurant row on Main Street in Yonkers, and you get the feeling that they’re willing to try extra hard to make it work.

The place isn’t fancy: the terra cotta floor is fashionably scuffed, and a few colorful serapes and assorted Mexican housewares add interest. Walls are painted in shades of turquoise and cinnamon (and need touching up where chairs have rubbed against them). Votives flicker here and there, and one night, SpongeBob Square Pants frolicked on a flat-screen TV in the dining room — with not a single child present to appreciate his antics. The soundtrack on two visits was a sometimes disconcerting blend of American pop and salsa.

Fresh mint leaves floated in water glasses, and puffed tortilla chips in a tall paper cone with zingy salsa — on the house — were habit forming. The excellent guacamole was stuffed back into an avocado shell and crunched up with radish slices and shredded iceberg lettuce. (Mexican food is the reason God made iceberg lettuce.)

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The restaurant opened in January.CreditGregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

We got a little dizzy trying to choose among antojitos (tacos, burritos, quesadillas, sopes, molotes and flautas), tortas y cemitas (sandwiches), botanas (snacks) and platos típicos (chilaquiles, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, grilled meats and fish, soups and salads). Happily, the percentages fell in our favor. A set of three fresh tacos — chicken, steak and spiced pork with pineapple — were double-lined with tiny corn tortillas. A warm, crisp chicken flauta, dipped in rich red chile sauce, was the sort of appetizer that makes you want to order it again, twice, as an entree. A giant mound of nachos made with steak, mushrooms and velvety queso blanco was probably a bridge too far — we’d ordered entrees, after all — but we polished them off anyway. Ceviche made with sliced shrimp and slender pieces of white fish was a tad watery, and a wild mushroom quesadilla was too tame.

Each and every plato típico was generously portioned and came with a hearty side of beans and rice, and extra tortillas. (You can end up with a lot of food on the table.) We liked the tightly curled shrimp in a garlicky diabla sauce; the rich, chocolaty mole poblano spread over half a tender chicken; and husky pieces of pulled roasted pork in a hot guajillo sauce. A guest who always orders salmon loved a salmon special spiked with jalapeño and underscored with fresh tomato slices. Three of us shared an addictive cactus salad draped with avocado slivers and queso fresco but just couldn’t finish it. A giant chicken enchilada with tomatillo and jalapeño sauce, ornamented with squiggles of sour cream (the kitchen loves its squeeze bottles), was plain delicious.

The traditional milk flan was perfect, and churritos, rolled in cinnamon sugar and dipped in caramel sauce, were just right. Fans of more flamboyant desserts will want to order the helado frito, a ball of vanilla ice cream dipped in cornflake batter, deep fried, doused in brandy and flambéed at tableside with the flick of a Zippo lighter; for the final act, the waiter, brandishing an aerosol can, piped a skirt of whipped cream around it all. You think that won’t bring us back for more?

THE BAR Margaritas, Mexican beers and wines from Mexico, South America and Spain. Two-for-one happy hour, Tuesday through Thursday, and Sunday, 4 to 7 p.m.

THE BILL Appetizers, $2 (for a single flauta) to $10 (for a large ceviche or shrimp cocktail); sandwiches, $7 to $9; main dishes, $9 to $19; desserts, $4 to $6. Brunch (appetizer, entree and mimosa or sangria) is $15.